


Camp Meadowlake

by doyouthasmind



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Camp Counsellor AU, F/F, Roommates, Slow Burn, Some hurt/comfort because I’m weAK OKAY, Summer Camp, Thasmin AU, and they were ROOMMATES, mid burn it is, oh my god they were roommates, okay I'm not entirely sure if this is slow burn, useless gays amirite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2019-10-15 05:44:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17522978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doyouthasmind/pseuds/doyouthasmind
Summary: When Yasmin Khan set off to the US to work at  Camp Meadowlake for the summer, she could never have known she'd meet someone quite like her roommate, Joy.





	1. A New Start

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This AU has been a fair few months in the making as I wanted to have a good number of chapters pre-written before committing to posting. I hope you enjoy!

Yasmin Khan hiked her rucksack a little higher on her shoulder as she took in her new home for the next four months. Camp Meadowlake. An adorably rustic summer camp nestled in the Pennsylvanian mountains where she’d been hired as an international camp counsellor for the summer. It had been terrifying leaving the embrace of her mum at the airport, but she was determined to enhance her CV ready to join the Police Force after university. She reminded herself of this as she stood nervously outside her cabin, not quite ready to go inside just yet. 

Upon arrival she had been greeted by an excitable American girl by the name of Hannah. While she had been welcoming to Yaz, the brunette had gotten the distinct impression that many of the other young adults on staff with her had grown up attending Camp Meadowlake every summer and appeared much more knowledgeable and comfortable in their surroundings than Yaz felt. 

As Hannah gave her a quick tour of the immediate area Yaz began to wonder just what she had let herself in for. 

“That’s the trail around the lake, that path leads to the softball field, and that’s the dining hall, where we’ll be meeting for dinner at six.” Hannah had managed to carry the entirety of the conversation from reception, where Yaz had signed herself in, to where they were now stood outside her cabin.

“Anyway, I’ll leave you to settle in. Your roommate should be here any moment now, and don’t forget – dinner is at six o’clock sharp.” And with that, Hannah had disappeared back down the trail and Yaz was alone again with her thoughts.

Gripping her somewhat useless phone in her hand – there wasn’t any wifi that she knew of just yet, and signal in the mountains was non-existent – she attempted to steel herself to go inside. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door of the newest chapter of her life. 

After emptying her suitcase into a wardrobe she had deemed as hers, Yaz found herself sitting on her new bunkbed. Camp Meadowlake specifically catered to older teenagers, meaning that counsellors weren’t expected to share rooms with their campers – something that appealed to Yaz when she was applying for the role. Well, that and the beautiful photographs that adorned the website that she had simply fallen in love with; the landscapes were amazing, and she couldn’t wait to explore the mountains, having lived in Sheffield her entire life.

She’d given a wry smile as she looked around her new living quarters. Showers were directly across the hall, and thankfully her room had an ensuite. 

Yaz looked at the bed across from hers. 

She’d never had a roommate before. 

The brunette was broken out of her reverie when a bubbly blonde burst through the door, dramatically dumping her bags at her feet with a sigh. It took the newcomer a few seconds to realise she had company, but when she did her face lit up with a smile.

“Hi.” Yaz told herself not to be nervous. 

“Oh hello! Are you my new roommate? I’m Joy, nice to meet you!” Yaz instantly relaxed, already knowing that she and Joy were going to be friends.

“Yasmin Khan,” She stood and stuck out a hand, which Joy shook ferociously, and then awkwardly pulled her into a hug, “My friends call me Yaz.” 

“Brilliant! Yasmin Khan. Yaz. Are you ready for the best summer ever?” Joy never seemed to be able to stand still. She bent down and threw her bags onto the bed opposite.

“So ready,” Yaz confirmed, “I can’t wait, honestly. I’m just a bit…”

“Nervous?” Joy finished sympathetically, “Well don’t you worry, Yaz. I’m going to look after you and by the end of your first week here you’ll feel like you’ve known Camp Meadowlake forever.” Yaz knew she liked Joy. After politely declining her new roommate’s offer of a custard cream, she sat back down on her bed. 

“Have you worked here before, then? At camp.”

“Yep!” The blonde mirrored her position on the bed opposite, “I only planned on working last summer before travelling, but somehow found myself roped in for another. I can’t seem to let this place go.” She said wistfully. 

“I’d love to travel,” Yaz replied, “Not sure I’m brave enough to do it alone, though.” 

“Well you seem to have made it here well enough!” Joy stood up and stretched, “Fancy a walk? I’m all stiff from travelling all day.” Yaz readily agreed, glad to spend some more time with her new roommate. 

The pair walked in silence for a few minutes, Yaz following Joy’s lead. The trail they emerged on led out towards the lake, and they wordlessly strayed from the path towards the body of water. 

“Do you swim?” Joy asked, motioning towards the water with a tip of her head.

“Not much. I went swimming with school when I was younger but that’s about it.” Yaz replied. “It’s so pretty.” She concluded, looking out across the lake and to the mountains on the other side. 

“It is.” The blonde agreed wholeheartedly. “I can’t wait for tomorrow. We’re hiking to the natural spring just on the other side of that mountain just there.” Her finger stretched out to point Yaz in the right direction, fingertip swirling around in the direction of the trail. The next week at camp was dedicated to training the new counsellors and assisting them on getting a lay of the land, ready for when the campers arrived the following week. 

“It really is beautiful. Very chilly though, the water is. Wouldn’t recommend it.” The blonde hinted pointedly. Yaz could sense there was a story behind that one. 

The pair wandered along the edge of the lake for a few more minutes before Joy glanced at her watch.

“Ooh, we’d better head over to the dining hall. Wouldn’t want to be late to dinner on the first day.” Yaz nodded in agreement and they started walking in the direction of the stony building that Hannah had pointed out as the dining hall earlier on. She really wasn’t feeling up to eating much, the time difference had messed up her body clock. Though it would be a nice way to get to know everyone, she supposed. She snuck a glance at her companion; at least she already had someone on her side.

The next morning Yaz had woken up early. They’d stayed up quite late the night before, getting to know the other members of staff and partaking in camp activities that they would be leading for the campers over the summer. 

Yaz wasn’t too sure how she felt about the campfire songs, though. They were a lot. 

She felt rather lost during the songs, not having known any of the words. Luckily Joy had chosen to sit next to her and attempted to act out the upcoming lyrics through mime. Yaz wasn’t too good at charades so it didn’t prove very successful, but it amused her nonetheless. 

Despite waking up early Yaz had slept amazingly well that night due to the jetlag. The next morning, she quietly gathered her clothes for the day and crept to the bathroom, extra cautious of waking her roommate. Yaz needn’t have worried, as Joy appeared to have woken on her own whilst Yaz was freshening up. 

“Stupid time zones.” The brunette had heard her mutter to herself, clearly having the same problem as herself. 

“Morning.” Yaz greeted the blonde, whom began dragging herself out of bed. Yaz had never seen someone literally drag themselves out of bed before and wondered if Joy always struggled to get up in the morning as the blonde slithered across the carpet. It was an amusing sight, regardless. 

When Joy emerged from the bathroom some fifteen minutes later she appeared much more conscious than before, and even graced Yaz with a smile. 

“This summer I’m trying to wait until the midsummer slump before I start drinking coffee in the hopes that it’ll actually help.” Joy had told her, and Yaz wasn’t too sure whether she was joking or not. 

“Do you know anywhere we can get a hot drink or something? I brought some tea bags with me and I’m dying for a brew.” Yaz asked the blonde hopefully.

“You’re in luck, Yasmin Khan!” Joy hopped around attempting to pull her socks on in her sudden urgency to leave, “I know the exact place.”


	2. Getting into the Swing of Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day of staff training, readying Yaz and her fellow staff for the summer ahead.

After breakfast the entire staff were partaking in a group hike to the natural spring that Joy had pointed out the day before. It was a half day hike, so they brought a picnic lunch in their rucksacks, and would be back by dinner. Yaz did her best to pay attention to the trail since she’d be taking campers on this very route the next week, but there was just so much to remember. 

Between the trails, daily schedule and all the campfire songs Yaz was getting rather overwhelmed. 

“Biscuit?” Yaz was brought back to the present by a familiar blonde at her side. Yaz giggled.

“We’ve just had breakfast.” She said, but still reached into the packet.

“There’s no rules against biscuits after breakfast.” Joy grinned around a mouthful of crumbs, “Anyway, I’m fuelling my body for the hike. Energy and all that.” Yaz didn’t have it in herself to argue and munched on her biscuit. 

An hour or so later in their hike, Yaz kept spotting Joy pinching leaves off various plants along the trail. The brunette almost choked in surprise when she saw Joy throwing a few in her mouth and carrying on as if nothing had happened. It took her a moment to realise Yaz was staring.

“Want one?” Joy held out a palmful of leaves. 

“You’re joking.” Yaz told her.

“Deadly serious.” Joy replied, “Well, mostly. They are edible anyway. I run an edible plant hike for campers. I still need to find a partner for that, actually.” 

“What plant is it?” She asked, not entirely convinced. 

“Chicory. Makes lovely tea.” Joy insisted Yaz have a taste, still holding out some leaves. After a second Yaz plucked the smallest leaf from Joy’s fingers. If Joy had succeeded in poisoning any campers there was no way she’d be running this hike for a second summer, Yaz supposed. 

What the heck.

She threw the leaf into her mouth, face giving nothing away.

“What’s the verdict?” Joy asked.

“It’s very… Leafy.” Yaz decided, “Cool, though. Do you know any more?” Joy beamed at her as if she’d just been asked the secrets of the universe.

“’Course! Ooh!” She stooped down whilst maintaining speed next to Yaz, grabbing a weedy looking plant from the ground, “Southern prickly ash. Try this.” She held out some to Yaz and chewed off a piece for herself.

The more Yaz chewed this one the weirder it felt in her mouth. Her brow furrowed.

“Great, isn’t it?” Joy grinned, “Makes your tongue go numb.” Yaz decided this plant wasn’t quite for her and dropped the rest into the undergrowth.

“Remind me to come to you next time I have a toothache.” She nodded to Joy, “Thanks for that, it was fun.” 

“Don’t mention it!” She was told, “People tend to just tune me out anyway. I can get on people’s nerves sometimes.” She rubbed her hand over her brow, scrunching her face in a way that told Yaz she had gotten it a lot. 

Yaz dropped a hand on Joy’s shoulder. 

“I’ll always listen to you, Joy.” She was answered with Joy’s apparent trademark grin, and they continued to the natural spring in a comfortable silence. 

The hike had been fun, Yaz later concluded. She’d gotten to know her fellow members of staff a little better and had befriended a nice boy called Ryan. While he hadn’t worked at Camp Meadowlake before, his granddad, Graham, was the director of camp, and Ryan had attended camp for the last three summers and so was able to offer her some advice, including making sure to stay away from the grilled cheeses in the dining hall. 

She had kept this in mind later that day, opting to go for the salad bar instead. 

“The salad bar really is a saviour,” Joy had told her while they stood in line, “You’ll appreciate it when we hit mid-summer and you want anything but dining hall food.” This was another instance where Yaz hoped Joy was joking, but if the state of the hot dogs currently circulating around the dining hall was anything to go by Yaz would be eating a lot of salad this summer. 

Things could be worse, she supposed. 

After dinner all the staff were split into twos and threes to create teams that would be running different activities together for the campers. They seemed to be split evenly in a way that each group had at least one staff member that had worked a previous summer so that first-timers such as Yaz wouldn’t be left fending for themselves.

Yaz was pleased to find that she had been placed with Ryan and Joy. 

They immediately began planning their activities that they would be running all summer. First, the trio would be overseeing the edible plant hike – due to Joy’s abundance of knowledge concerning it – and decided that hiking different trails each time would keep the hike interesting throughout the summer.

The groups were also encouraged to create their own ideas and activities to run over the next four months, as well as the ones allotted to them. After discussing it as a team, Joy, Ryan and herself decided on an evening astronomy hike to a nearby lookout point on the closest mountain, due to Joy’s overwhelming enthusiasm of all things space. 

“I even have ursa major on my arm in freckles!” She told them excitedly, shoving her forearm into Yaz’s immediate eyesight. 

“Cool,” She chuckled, “Maybe we could recreate it with henna for the campers.” She suggested, and Joy quickly nodded.

“Brilliant idea, Yasmin Khan,” Joy told her, and went back to scribbling wildly in her notebook.

 

Later that night, Joy and Yaz were sitting on the floor of their room, sharing a bag of tortilla chips that they had swiped from the dining hall. 

“You know what’s funny?” Yaz asked Joy.

“What?” She reached into the bag for another chip.

“I was so nervous of having a roommate before I got here.” Yaz admitted, “I’m glad we get on so well.” Joy smiled.

“Me too.” They stilled as their hands brushed in the bag. Yaz coughed before continuing.

“Who was your roommate last year? Do they still work here?” Yaz didn’t miss the way that Joy’s face dropped, and immediately regretted having asked, “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.” Joy allowed a small smile to grace her face at the understanding of her roommate.

“No, it’s okay, I want to tell you.” She covered Yaz’s knee with her palm, “Her name was River. We got on really well, actually, I felt like she really understood me. Then after camp we kind of grew apart. I guess that’s just how it is sometimes.” She felt Yaz’s arm wrap around her shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” The brunette told her.

“Don’t be.” Joy gave a wry smile, “Anyway, its in the past. What’s going on with you? How’s uni?” 

Yaz knew that the next day she’d be kicking herself for staying up so late but sitting there in that moment she didn’t care. Joy and Yaz stayed sitting on the floor, eating chips and chatting for hours on end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I had been working on this chapter on and off for a while, and just had to decide when enough was enough. I think I mentioned it last time, but I was an international member of staff at an American summer camp a few years ago, and yes the edible plants were a thing. Once someone gave me a plant, told me to eat it and it turned my whole mouth numb, so this chapter is entirely plausible lol. Please stick around for the next chapter, it's my absolute favourite out of all I have written so far, and I hope you guys love it as much as I do. As ever, please leave any questions and comments below! :)


	3. You Would Not Believe Your Eyes

“Okay, Ryan. On three… One. Two, three!” Yaz and Joy shouted, encouraging the young man. Joy turned to Yaz.

“He didn’t jump.” She muttered.

“He does look a bit nervous, bless him.” Yaz scrunched her nose in sympathy. 

Next on the camp’s agenda for staff training was a day filled with team-building exercises. That morning they had played capture the flag and used the low ropes, and now they were doing the leap of faith. At least, they were supposed to be doing it. Ryan didn’t seem too keen. 

“Let’s give him some encouragement.” Joy whispered to Yaz, before screaming, “Come on Ryan, you’ve got this!” Yaz joined in and the pair began hollering at their teammate up in the trees. 

Ryan looked down at them – that was a mistake. He’d managed to not look down during the climb up and now he’d just gone and blown it. This platform was much higher than it looked, he could hardly even see Yaz and Joy, though the screaming gave them away. 

He looked out at the trapeze he was meant to be jumping to.

Not a chance. 

Were his knees knocking or was it just windy up here? 

Ryan took one final deep breath and went for it. The minute between his feet leaving the platform and touching the ground were a blur, and as soon as his harness was unclipped he was tackled by Yaz and Joy, who hollered, “Come on Ryan! Knew you had it in you!”

Ryan tried to play it cool, and if Yaz and Joy knew how scared he had been they didn’t give it away. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Nice one, son.” Graham gave him an approving smile. 

“Thanks, gramps.” Ryan smiled, before returning to Joy and Yaz.

 

Later that evening, Joy volunteered to take Yaz to the lookout point where they’d be taking the astronomy hike.

“Oof, mind that hole.” Joy pointed out the hole in the dirt that she’d just tripped into. 

“Thanks,” Yaz chuckled, “Sure you don’t need my torch?” She offered to the blonde ahead, who had already turned it down.

“Nah, there’s plenty of daylight left!” She gestured wildly to the tree canopy and what was left of the quickly fading sunlight, “Don’t give me that.” Joy said when she saw the look on Yaz’s face. 

“Maybe it’d be a good idea, though. Save you getting injured and all that.” Yaz thought back to earlier on in their hike, where Joy had repeatedly stumbled over rocks, walked smack bang into low-hanging branches, and tripped over her own two feet in the half-light. 

“Look, it doesn’t matter, we’re practically here!” Yaz cringed as Joy ran ahead and yet again tripped over thin air as she ran out into the clearing.

“I’m fine!” Joy’s voice was muffled as her face was pressed into the grass. 

“Come here,” Yaz stuck out a hand and pulled her roommate up, “You’re a liability, you are.” She muffled a laugh at Joy’s downtrodden face. 

“I’m just saying, maybe it wouldn’t hurt for you to be a bit more careful. We have a whole summer left to go and I’d be useless without you.” Yaz placated, picking weeds out of Joy’s hair. 

“Fine, I’ll try.” Joy managed with a huff.

“Good.” Yaz grinned, wrapping one arm around the blonde and guiding them both closer to the edge of the lookout. 

The trail they had taken lead out to a clearing which had an incredible lookout point at the top of the mountain that camp was settled on. 

Yaz’s eyes were drawn to the vast landscape before her; it was a clear night and she could see for miles. Joy and herself sank down on the grass and waited for night to fall, the brightest stars just visible in the dusk. They laid down, and Yaz could feel Joy’s arm brushing up against her own as they lay in comfortable silence. 

“I can’t even begin to fathom what’s out there.” Joy spoke a while later. Yaz turned her head to see the blonde, the reflection of the stars echoed in her eyes, “We’re such a tiny speck. I wish I could see everything. See what the universe is all about.” 

Yaz hummed thoughtfully, “How crazy would that be? Travelling the universe.” She mused, looking back up to the now-darkened sky, “Is that why you travel?” Joy nodded before she realised Yaz couldn’t see her.

“Yep. I want to see everything – live everything.” She smiled wistfully, “Anyway, we came up here for astronomy not to hear me ramble, though I am pretty interesting if I say so myself.” 

They spent the next twenty minutes or so going through the most prominent constellations in the northern hemisphere and how to spot them. While it was a lot to remember, Yaz knew that she’d have Joy and Ryan with her as they led the hike, so she’d be okay. 

Once they’d finished covering what would be discussed on the astronomy hike they fell into easy conversation about anything and everything to elongate the time they had up on the lookout together. Yaz learnt that Joy’s favourite colour was yellow, and that she wanted to go to university after her travels and become a doctor. Joy learnt that Yaz had lived in Sheffield her entire life and longed to see something bigger and better. More exciting. 

Somehow along the way Joy’s fingers threaded their way into Yaz’s. 

“Now, are you ready for my favourite part?” Joy asked Yaz when they were readying for the hike back down the hill in the dark.

“Course.” Yaz replied, and Joy grinned. The brunette laughed when Joy ran behind her and covered her eyes, “What’re you doing, you numpty?” She chuckled, wondering what was so special that she couldn’t see it.

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Do you trust me?” Yaz felt puffs of Joy’s breath on her ear from behind.

“Always.” Yaz replied, and Joy could feel the swell of Yaz’s cheeks beneath her fingers as the brunette smiled. 

“Ditto. Start walking forward, I’ll tell you when to stop.” Yaz started to move her feet beneath her, not wanting to go too fast on the uneven ground; Joy was capable of tripping when she could see so she wasn’t taking chances. 

It turns out that while being the seeing one of the pair, Joy still managed to stumble on the short walk to the edge of the woods. Yaz giggled as she felt the unsteady blonde crash into her on more than one occasion.

“Okay, stop.” Joy breathed eventually, “Open in three, two… one.” 

Yaz didn’t know what she expected, how much of the forest could have changed since dusk? When her eyes opened she was momentarily lost for words. 

“Whoa... I don’t know what to say.” Hundreds of glowing orbs were suspended in the forest. They weaved in and out of trees, one settling in the air only centimetres from Yaz’s face. She turned to the blonde in awe, “What are they?”

“Fireflies. Amazing, right? You hear all about them on TV, but nothing can prepare you for seeing them in real life. Not got these back in Sheffield, aye?” The pair held eye contact and Yaz didn’t want to look away. She could see the golden glow of the fireflies on Joy’s skin, her hair. 

Her eyes.

Yaz broke the eye contact first. The blonde was an enigma. Yaz swallowed.

An enigma she wanted to unravel. Understand the person inside. 

She looked back at the blonde and took Joy’s hands in her own. She smiled.

“Yeah, definitely couldn’t find this back in Sheffield.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favourite parts of being in Pennsylvania was the fireflies at night. If you've never seen them in person find a video online, they're truly breathtaking.


	4. We've Only Just Begun

This was it.

The week of staff training had come to an end, and the first campers would be arriving before lunch. Yaz worried her lip as she pretended to eat her oatmeal; she wasn’t sure if she could eat if she tried. Yaz felt a hand cover her own.

“Try not to be so nervous, you’re going to do great.” A familiar voice spoke near her ear. Yaz turned to face Joy in the seat next to her.

“Is it that obvious?” 

“No.” Joy quickly answered, and Yaz gave her a look, “Okay, maybe, but you shouldn’t be. I was in your place last year. I swear, for the first solid month that I was at camp I had no idea what was going on.” She managed to pull a laugh from her friend.

“And it’ll be fine,” Joy continued, “Because you’ll have Ryan and you’ll have me.” Joy slipped an arm around Yaz’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. 

“Thanks.” Yaz sighed as she relaxed into the hug. Before she’d arrived at Camp Meadowlake she’d been convinced that she wouldn’t make friends, and here she was a week later, closer to Joy than she felt to most she’d known her entire life. 

Yaz wasn’t prepared to unpack all of that right now, though. 

“Besides,” said Joy, “If Mr Macho over there can do the high jump, you can definitely do today.” She pointed at Ryan across the table who scowled at her and then continued to dig into his breakfast. 

“I know, I’ll be fine once today’s over. I’ve just gotten so settled into this routine, and the campers arriving will shake it up.” Yaz explained. 

“Don’t worry, Yaz. By the time the week’s over you’ll wonder why you were ever worried in the first place.”

 

Joy was one of those people that usually ended up being right in an annoying sort of way, Yaz thought that evening. The day had been full of introductions and getting to know the campers. She’d been quite nervous at first, but after realising that the campers would be looking up to her as a role model she managed to mask her nervousness with confidence and threw herself into it. 

Whether it was fake confidence, Yaz didn’t know yet. Maybe she’d warm into it. 

And while Yaz knew that this was a job and she was getting paid – not very much, mind – she was having the most amazing time, and it didn’t feel like work. Maybe working alongside Joy and Ryan had something to do with that, though. 

They ended up finished the evening around the campfire, and while Joy wasn’t sitting near her she’d grinned at her over the flames, her golden hair illuminated by the light. They made smores, with many of the teens expressing shock at the fact that Yaz didn’t eat them on the regular.

Later on, a few of the campers attempted to teach Yaz some of the campfire songs (she’d get the hang of them one day), and Joy made a compelling argument as to why a custard cream trumps a graham cracker, “It’s all in the filling.” She had told them, passing around a packet from her seemingly endless supply. 

After seeing their group back to their cabins, Yaz and Joy trudged up the slope towards their own. She felt Joy nudge her with her elbow.

“So, how was it? I don’t have to say it, do I?” Yaz rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“No, you were right,” She pretended to sulk but couldn’t hold it together when Joy tripped over air, Yaz catching her by the arm just before she hit the ground. When the pair finally stopped giggling, Yaz patted Joy’s shoulder.

“Let’s try not to injure ourselves too badly before the summer is over, okay?” Joy tripping or bumping into things was becoming quite the theme, and quite frankly, Yaz was somewhat worried that herself and Ryan would end up having to pick up slack when Joy eventually got hurt after another of her accidents, she'd been lucky so far. 

“Alright, Mum, I’ll try.” Joy replied dryly with a smirk as she pushed open their cabin door, “Man does that feel good.” She announced after kicking off her walking boots and gave her toes a wiggle, and Yaz fell face-first onto her bunk.

“I’ve never been so tired in my life.” She moaned and felt a gentle pat on her shoulder.

“It’s all downhill from here, I can assure you.” Joy reminded her, helpfully – not.

 

The next day Yaz woke early to sit in the camp office and use the wifi. The camp schedule had been so packed thus far that she’d not even thought about contacting home until right now – okay, well maybe she had. She was a little worried that the second she heard her mum’s voice she’d break down there and then before booking the first flight home. Hence, she’d left it until now. 

Taking a deep breath, she connected with her mum over facebook messenger. 

“Hello?” Her dad’s familiar voice filled her ear. 

“Dad? It’s Yaz.” She chuckled to herself as she heard her dad shout for Najia. 

“Yasmin? Honey I’ve missed you.” Her mum’s voice threatened the tears forming perilously in her eyes. 

“I miss you too, mum. How is everyone?” Yaz contentedly sat and listened to her mum filling her in on all the family gossip for a while, it was crazy to think that normal life was continuing in Sheffield while she was having the time of her life in another country. 

“Tell me how you are, Yaz. How’s camp?” If anyone was to join Yaz in the camp office at this moment, they would have had the pleasure of witnessing her face light up as she regaled in telling her mother absolutely everything that had happened since she’d stepped off the plane eight days ago. 

Yaz was readying to finish up her call when Joy pushed through the door, eyes pointed down towards her phone until she realised who was there. The brunette’s heart skipped a beat when Joy gave an excited wave, whispering a greeting. Yaz responded with a “hey” of her own when her mother’s voice reminded her of her phone call.

“Who’re you talking to, Yaz?” Classic Najia, ever the nosy mum. 

“Joy, my roommate, remember?” She could see Joy’s face perk up from the corner, as if she was asking permission to eavesdrop, and Yaz patted the sofa cushion beside her in invitation. Joy wasted no time in hopping over and curling her feet under herself.

“Of course I do, Yaz. How is she? Looking after you, I hope.” She blushed and looked up at Joy, her face closer than Yaz realised. 

“She is.” Joy grinned at her, mouthing, “Can I talk to her?”

“Would you like to say hi, mum?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't not include Najia somehow, could I?
> 
> Sorry if this chapter feels a bit all over the place, I really wanted to move the story forward into the main chunk of the summer.  
> As ever, thank you so much for encouraging me with your comments<3


	5. Be a Rainbow in Someone's Cloud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry this hasn't been updated in months. A good few more chapters have been pre-written after this so the next chapter will be much quicker forthcoming, promise!

When Yaz awoke to the sound of Joy’s alarm blaring, there was only one thought going through her head.

“I shouldn’t have eaten that grilled cheese.”

At dinner the night before, Yaz had been feeling extra hungry after a hike around the lake with her campers that she had completely forgotten Ryan’s advice to stay away from the grease-soaked sandwiches. She regrets that now. 

“What was that, Yaz?” The brunette in question cracked an eyelid to see Joy, eyes bleary, sitting up in bed and cocooned by her sheets. Yaz took a while to respond, and Joy was getting more concerned by the second; it was the blonde whom usually spent an age climbing out of bed, not Yaz. Yaz was a morning person. 

Interest piqued, Joy forced herself from her bed prematurely. Precisely 13 minutes ahead of schedule, if she wanted to be exact. 

“Yaz?” Joy reached out a finger and poked her cheek, waiting expectantly for Yaz’s eyes to open again, “You alright?” Yaz shook her head fiercely. 

“I don’t feel good, I was sick in the night.” She groaned, and Joy morphed from tired-mode to mothering-mode in an instant, holding a palm to Yaz’s forehead. 

“You do feel a bit warm.” She considered, “I’ll go let Graham know that you’re not working today.” Joy told her, and Yaz felt her insides freeze up. She hadn’t taken a sick day in forever. Nadja had always sent her to school no matter what, and this habit had eclipsed into adulthood. 

“But...” She attempted to stall but Joy interrupted her.

“No buts. I’d much rather you have one day off than need more off in the future because you’ve pushed yourself too far. You need to take care of yourself, okay?” Joy was sitting on the edge of her bed at this point, and while Yaz felt awful, a small part of her brain was pleading to the gods that her roommate couldn’t smell her morning breath.

“Alright.” Yaz conceded, “But I’m not happy about it.” Joy grinned as Yaz shifted herself further under the bedsheets, the blonde happy to have gotten her way. 

“Good. Now try and get some rest, okay? I’ll come see you later.” She patted Yaz’s hand that rested on the bedsheet. 

“Okay.” Yaz mumbled, and she could feel herself beginning to drift off again.

Joy felt a small smile grace her lips before she stood and crept into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

Yaz awoke again much later to the sound of the door opening.

“It’s only me.” She relaxed at the sound of Joy’s voice and felt her mattress dip as the blonde in question sat on the edge of the bed. 

“How’re you feeling?” Joy asked, watching as Yaz rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“Fine,” Yaz offered, but a stern look from Joy had her shrinking under her gaze, “Okay, I feel better than I did.” Joy considered her response for a moment, ultimately deciding that it’d have to do. The blonde could see for herself that Yaz looked better rested than this morning and had far more colour to her cheeks. 

“Good.” She smiled at her roommate for a second, before motioning down to the plate of food in her hand, “I brought you dinner in case you were hungry.” She grinned when Yaz’s face perked up at the sound of food. 

“Really?” The brunette pushed herself up so that she was sitting against the headboard and took the plate thankfully from Joy. She took a bite of what appeared to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before chewing thoughtfully.

“How’s the day been?” She asked Joy, wondering how the blonde and Ryan had gotten on without her. 

“Yeah, it’s been okay. We have a smaller group of campers this week anyway, so its nothing me and Ryan can’t handle alone.” Then Joy giggled, eyes lighting up and reminding Yaz of the night with the astronomy hike and fireflies. 

“What’s so funny?” Yaz asked.

Wait. 

The fireflies.

The astronomy hike.

“A few of the girls have taken a liking to Ryan.” Joy giggled again, before realising the sudden downtrodden look on Yaz’s face, “What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I just realised that it’s Wednesday, so I’ll miss the astronomy hike tonight. You know it’s my favourite.” She sniffed and began fiddling with the friendship bracelet that Joy made her. Ever since Joy and Yaz had taken that hike for the first time together during staff training it had become the favourite part of Yaz’s week. 

“Oh, Yaz.” Joy clasped Yaz’s hand that rested on the blanket, “There’s always next week. And the week after. And the week after that.” Yaz smiled wryly at her.

“I know, but there’s only so many days of summer.” They looked each other in the eye for a few moments, before Joy’s eyes brightened.

“I know! How about if I make it up to you when you’re feeling better?” She asked.

“What’re you thinking?” Yaz used the hand that wasn’t indisposed to continue eating her sandwich.

“How about you leave that to me?” Joy asked, and Yaz had recently learnt that this means Joy either won’t tell her or doesn’t have a plan at all. Yaz was willing to bet on the latter. 

“Alright, fine.” Yaz conceded. 

“Perfect!” Joy said before checking her watch, “Ah, better be off. I’ll see you later, alright?” She got up and began gathering her belongings to head back outside. 

“See you later.” Yaz waved as the blonde disappeared out the door. 

“Drink lots of water!” She heard Joy shout through the closing door. 

 

The next day Yaz felt more like normal, going back to work with Ryan and Joy. 

“Come on, girls, let’s keep the dye on the clothes and not each other.” Yaz encouraged the gaggle of preteens across the room, “Don’t say I didn’t try.” She said quieter this time to Joy. 

Yaz, Ryan and Joy were spending the afternoon with their charges doing arts and crafts, and due to the current inclement weather, time indoors was necessary. Yaz attempted to contain a shiver that ran down her spine as she stared at the heavy rain and strong wind out the window. While she embraced the outdoor activities that living in the mountains allowed for, Yaz was grateful to escape the horrific storm outside. Every time lightning struck it felt as if the whole building was being shook by thunder, and it always amazed her how quickly these storms always appeared.

A gentle tug on her sweatshirt sleeve drew her out of her reverie.

“Can I have some help?” Yaz turned to the camper beside her, who was struggling to fasten a recently crafted friendship bracelet to her wrist. 

“Of course, Sarah.” Joy and Yaz were currently supervising a group of campers making friendship bracelets – at least Yaz was. Joy was doing a terrible job of hiding the bracelet she was making in secret under the table. Up until now, Yaz had allowed Joy to think that she hadn’t noticed. 

The pair looked up at a cry from Ryan at the far end of the room. His meagre attempt at supervising a handful of campers tie-dying everything within reach was failing miserably. Once Yaz had grown bored of laughing at Ryan’s expense she turned to Joy beside her.

“Don’t think I can’t see that you’re doing something.” She told the blonde, who instantly tried to play it cool. 

“Me? Doing something?” Joy faked a frown, her voice an octave higher than normal, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shrugged. Yaz was unconvinced.

“Guys, come on.” The pair heard Ryan exclaim from the other side of the room and when they looked up they found that the girls had decided that the dye belonged on the young man instead. Joy snickered.

“Do you think he needs a hand?” She asked Yaz, watching Ryan wiping blue dye from his arm with a wet paper towel.

“Looks like he has everything under control to me.” The brunette replied, she was once again enjoying herself too much to do anything about it. 

“All done!” Joy suddenly exclaimed, looking up at Yaz with a grin.

“With what?” She asked when the blonde started scooting her chair closer to Yaz’s.

“Close your eyes and give me your hand.” Yaz did as she was told with a bemused smile on her face.

“What’re you doing?” She giggled when she felt the blonde fasten something onto her wrist, her skin prickling under Joy’s gentle touch. 

“Okay, open.” Joy told her with glee, and Yaz looked down to see the bracelet that Joy had deftly braided with navy thread, with star shaped beads weaving in and out of the design, “I thought I’d make you something to remember our astronomy hike by.” She told Yaz, “What do you think?”

“Oh, I love it! Thank you,” Yaz pulled Joy into a side hug with the biggest grin, still admiring the bracelet that adorned her wrist, “Can you show me how you did it? I want to make you one so we can match.” 

“Matching bracelets with Yaz? Amazing.” Joy announced before diving in to show Yaz how it was done.

While Joy took her friendship bracelet class very seriously Yaz found more of the delicate parts a bit tricky, and so the final product was more of a group effort. It didn’t look quite as polished as Yaz’s own bracelet, but Joy secretly thought that this made her love it even more. 

“All done!” Yaz later declared, “May I do the honours?” She waited until Joy extended her own arm before gently securing it to the blonde’s wrist. 

“Well? What’s the verdict?” Yaz asked. 

“It’s perfect.” Joy surmised, smiling down at her bracelet. She was going to take good care of it, that was for sure, “Thank you, Yaz,” Once again the pair were hugging.

“Can we do another night hike, just us, sometime soon?” Yaz asked. She’d had so much fun the last time.

“More adventuring with Yaz? Can’t wait.”


	6. A Change to the Status Quo

As the weeks passed Yaz grew more and more comfortable with the general day to day life of Camp Meadowlake. Each day passed in a fluffy of hiking, cookouts and smores. The longer she stayed the longer she realised she never wanted to leave. 

She didn’t want to leave the familiarity of Camp Meadowlake or the comfort of the closest friendship she’s ever had. Joy had become much more to Yaz than she had ever thought possible at the beginning of the summer. 

One morning Yaz was rudely awoken by a loud alarm blaring from outside. She checked the time with bleary eyes, noting that it was barely the right side of 6am. 

At the other end of the room Joy was a flurry of movement, and Yaz had never seen her roommate emerge from bed so quickly. Yaz hurried to copy her, the sense of urgency clear as day.

“What’s going on?” Yaz asked as she shoved a sweatshirt over her head.

“It’s the lost camper siren.” Joy replied as she dove into the bathroom and returned haphazardly dressed, scrambling to grab anything she could possibly need and shove it into her worn backpack. 

“Oh God,” Yaz muttered, pulling on a pair of shorts, “Does this happen often?” She asked Joy as they both shove their hiking boots on and tug at the laces. 

“Only once while I’ve been here, but it was just a drill,” Joy replied, “I can’t see it being a drill this early in the morning, though,” She admitted, throwing a concerned glance in Yaz’s direction as they leave their room and make their way towards the centre of the commotion near the dining hall. 

As they approached the epicentre of action Yaz pleaded to the skies that all her campers were safe. 

The pair jogged towards Graham, who was standing outside the dining hall directing search parties. Joy and Yaz were paired together to hike the trail towards the natural spring in the hopes that the camper, a bright thirteen-year-old called Ava, had simply wandered off in the night and would soon be found, safe and sound.

Everyone was dispersed to different likely locations that Ava may have gotten to, and while a long shot, Graham chose to send Yaz with Joy to the spring as he knew that Joy was the most familiar with that trail out of all his summer staff. Graham handed Joy a radio so that they could contact him back at camp if they found the missing teen, with strict instructions to stay together.

The sun was only just peeking over the mountains as they set off towards the natural spring. It was a lengthy hike at best, so Yaz steeled herself for the long, but brisk, walk ahead. The pair intermittently called for the girl as they hiked, hoping to hear a shout in return. Despite the morning chill in the air, Yaz had broken out in a sweat from their fast pace. 

“What do you think the chances are of us finding her on this trail?” Yaz asked Joy after taking a swig of her water bottle that she’d thankfully remembered to bring in the rush. 

“It’s hard to say. How many fifteen-year-olds would choose to hike alone in the woods in the middle of the night?” She hummed, “That’s hoping that she even managed to stick to the trail in the dark. This is her first summer at camp, so she can’t be too familiar with these woods.” This had Yaz panicking a little more. 

“Do you think that’s the case? That she wandered off? What if she didn’t go alone, what if someone took her?” 

“Let’s focus on what we know. Chances are that she’s much nearer camp than the spring anyway.” Joy reassured her friend and herself. Yaz silently agreed, knowing that useless worrying wouldn’t aid them in finding Ava. 

“Besides,” Joy added, “Nothing happens at Camp Meadowlake anyway.” Yaz really hoped this was the case.

-

It was nearing 10am when Yaz and Joy reached the spring. There had been no sign of Ava thus far, leading Yaz to believe – and hope – that she hadn’t ventured this way at all. The pair took a brief break beside the spring in preparation for the long hike back to Camp Meadowlake, aided by a packet of custard creams from Joy’s backpack.

“Is there a chance that she’s been found already?” Yaz asked the blonde, whom munched thoughtfully on her biscuit.

“Potentially,” She mused, attempting optimism for the brunette’s sake, “The radio’s been quiet, but the signal is pretty ropey this deep into the mountains, so there’s a chance that we’ve just not heard the call that she’s been found.”

They were both silent in their contemplation.

The quiet was broken by a crash of foliage and branches. Eyes wide and alert, the pair leapt up from the ground and attempted to identify the cause.

“Please don’t be a bear.” Yaz heard Joy mumble under her breath, which absolutely did not help her racing heart. 

“A big herd of deer maybe?” Yaz suggested, her fingers wrapping their way around Joy’s forearm in an attempt at some sort of comfort – whether that comfort was meant for Joy or herself she had no idea.

“I’d love to leave and not find out,” Joy turned to look her in the eye, “But what if it’s-

“Ava.” They spoke the word together, before silently confirming that they needed to find out, for the sake of reassurance. 

The pair could scarcely breathe as they crept in the direction of the disturbance. Neither wanted to call out for the girl in case it was just wildlife after all. Their ears strained to hear for any further noises over the sound of the rustling branches and the stream trickling away from the spring. After pushing through a particularly thick piece of undergrowth Yaz exhaled in relief.

“Ava?” She called out, spotting the younger girl’s crop of blonde hair in the distance.

“Ava!” Joy called with her. They rushed over foliage and fallen trees to meet the distressed girl in an embrace.

“I’m sorry!” The girl snuffled into Yaz’s shoulder.

“It’s okay now, we’ve got you.” She reassured her, gently rubbing her hand across Ava’s back to calm her. Yaz decided to tune out the fact that she could feel Joy’s arms snaked around herself as well as the girl.

“You are okay, aren’t you?!” Joy spoke quickly, stepping back to give her the once-over. Yaz ignored the part of her missing the comfort of her roommate’s embrace. 

“Yeah, I just tripped and grazed my knee,” Ava pointed down to the offending limb, a trickle of blood betraying that she had fallen. Joy concluded that it was likely the source of the commotion they had heard from the spring.

“That’s got to be the luckiest trip on the planet. We might not have found you if we hadn’t heard it. Come on, lets sort you out.” She gently took the girl by the hand and lead her back to the spring and sat her down on a rock where their backpacks lay forgotten in the disturbance. 

Yaz breathed a sigh of relief as Joy pulled a first aid kit from her well-stocked backpack and tended to Ava’s wound. The brunette couldn’t draw her eyes away from the gentleness of the usually hyperactive blonde’s touch as she bandaged Ava’s knee so carefully. 

“All better,” Joy announced a few minutes later, setting her hand on the girl’s shoulder, “Now, what happened to get you so turned around in the woods like that?” 

Ava took a deep breath and began to tell her story.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if there are any inaccuracies in the summer camp experience. I was in the same position as Yaz, and moved from the UK to the US for the summer and worked at a summer camp, so this is entirely based on my own experiences. If you have any questions let me know down below! :)


End file.
